Another Chance
by younggirlx
Summary: The morning after Harry Potter's nineteenth birthday, he wakes up to find he has gone back in time to his sixth birthday. What will he do when he has a chance to do it all over again? Eventual HarryGinny
1. Chapter 1

"Boy! Wake _up!_"

Harry rolled over, falling off the small cot he was sleeping on. "Sure..." he muttered drowsily.

He yelped, fully awake now, at the sound of his voice. It sounded so..._young_. Not like a seventeen year old's voice at all.

Plus, he had no idea where he was. Last thing he remembered was crashing onto his bed in the Leaky Cauldron. And this was not the inn: it was much smaller, danker, mustier, and darker. Spiders were crawling everywhere.

He raised his hands to his hair automatically. His hands were tiny-like a three year old's. Harry looked frantically around the floor before finding a small, cracked mirror. It looked exactly like the one had been forced to repair after Dudley sat on it.

With another yelp and a couple of choice words, he dropped the mirror. It crashed to the ground but he paid no attention.

He was a child again.

Harry really had no idea of how old he really was. He had always looked very small for his age. He estimated he was six, and confirmed it with a glance at Aunt Petunia's flowery calendar. (what is it with Evans and flowers, I ask you?)

OK. He was five. That was really, really weird. He was probably having a hallucination, or something. It was probably some stage of grief. He'd have to ask Hermione...oh yeah, he couldn't. Because he was stuck in some freakish dream-thing.

The last thing he remembered was going to sleep after a fight with the Dursley's. There was nothing unusual about that, though. Right before he went to sleep he had let Hedwig out. And thought, as he returned to the bed, 'What I would give to have another chance..'

Dear Merlin. His wish...it had come true.

**Diagon Alley **

The goblin frowned at the boy in front of him. (it) He was so young but his aura was so powerful. It was almost like Dumbledore's...and Dumbledore was over 150 years old! This boy couldn't be more than five...

"Hello. I'm Harry Potter, and I need a key to my vault...You see, I can't obtain the other."

The goblin grunted. Maybe that explained it. he retrieved a gold, oval platter from under the desk. "Put your hand on it. If you _are _Harry Potter, than a key will be made. If you are not...well, it won't be pleasant..." the goblin rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

Harry placed his hands on the platter. An odd sensation fluttered through him. It felt almost like Legilimency but different...

The goblin frowned sullenly. "Apparently you are Harry Potter...Griphook!"

Another goblin appeared. This one seemed rather young in comparison to the other. "Yes?"

"Bring Mr. Potter to his vault...here's the key." he handed Griphook a small, shiny key. On it was engraved some letters and numbers. When Harry got a closer look at it, he realized it read:

**H. J. Potter**

**Vault two-ninety-one**

When Harry reached the vault, he scooped up four bags of gold. Even now, the amount of gold still struck him dumb.

The next place he went was Ollivander's. It was less dusty this time around, but not by a lot. "I'd like to buy a wand, sir."

Ollivander nodded before staring at him intently. "Rather young...but powerful, very powerful..."

"Er..."

"Yes, yes...maybe this..."

Ollivander handed Harry a wand. With relief, he noted it was his old wand, minus the scratch marks and fingerprints. He waved it,

"Yes...you have no idea how long that wand has been here...near forty years...it is curious, however, that the wand should choose you...when it's brother had given you that scar..."

Even though Harry had heard these words before, it was slightly creepy. He paid the money grateful that Ollivander did not deem the underage wizarding laws to seriously.

Harry then bought several pairs of robes, and some books: Animagi, or How to Become One, Wandless Magic, Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Hogwarts, a History. 

As he was lugging his purchases back to the Leaky Cauldron, he collided headfirst with someone. "Oh, I'm sorry..." said Harry, picking up his items. He then realized who he had bumped into.

_Ginny Weasley._

She was blushing furiously. He picked up the book she had dropped and handed it to her.

"Ginny! Ginny!"

Harry would recognize that voice anywhere. He smiled at Ginny. "Well...I guess I'll be going. by the way, I'm Harry."

"Ginny." she told him, before running to meet her mother, still blushing.

**Flashback**

_"No." said Ginny idly. "I told him you had a Hungarian Horntail. Much more macho."_

**End Flashback.**

A Hungarian Horntail...not such a bad idea, after all. Grinning wildly, Harry rushed out of Diagon Alley. He had to get back before the Dursley's noticed.

**R&R my friends! (Yes, I made some changes! Harry is nineteen, not seventeen. He has not yet defeated Voldermort, though, but he has been in a lot of battles.**


	2. Chapter 2

Thankfully, the Dursley's hadn't noticed. Harry wasn't dumb enough to think they missed him, he had thought maybe they needed him to do more chores.

Anyway, he was bored. After getting his tattoo (a Hungarian Horntail, breathing fire) there just wasn't much to _do._

He decided to go to Diagon Alley, just to look. As he entered the Leaky Cauldron, he looked around in alarm.

Tall figures, clad in black robes and white masks, were running awry, shooting hexes and curses everywhere. The air was thick with smoke, and over the screaming of curses he could hear little children shrieking. Groans of pain were being issued somewhere to the left of him, and he could also hear the calls of "Alert the Ministry!'

Through a gap in the smoke, he saw a Death Eater curse a little boy and his mother. They fell to the ground, limp.

As for Harry, the smoky haze in the air was nothing compared to the haze that had slid over his mind. At the flash of green light, the scream of the mother as the curse hit her child, a blind rage had overtaken him.

He ran towards the Death Eaters, screaming curse after curse. Most were meant to immobilize, but some did a little bit worse. It took the Death Eaters a little while to catch on to the fact that this scrawny little boy was taking out half their army, but when they did, they all concentrated on him.

.He dodged most of the hexes and all of the Unforgivables, but was hit by a couple of cutting curses. He kept battling until all the Death Eaters were lying of the ground, most in considerable pain. He looked at them in horror, realizing what he had done.

The witches and wizards who had ran into hiding came out now, rather surprised to see a small child standing amid the pile of black robes. Harry, not wanting them to discover who he was, started to run towards the Leaky Cauldron.

"NOT SO FAST, LADDY!"

That stopped Harry dead in his tracks. it couldn't be...he turned around slowly, not really wanting to see the person to whom the voice belonged.

Sure enough, it was Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody. A little less scarred, a little less grizzled, but Moody all the same.

"Who're you?' growled Moody.

"Er."

Apparently Moody decided to move on to the next question. "How old are you?"

"What is this, 20 Questions?" demanded Harry indignantly.

"How old are you?" repeated Moody.

Harry could see no way out of it. "Six." he muttered. This was definitely not going well.

Moody eyed him suspiciously.

"I swear."

"I'll let Dumbledore be the judge of that..." he growled, and grabbed Harry's arm. The familiar sensation of Apparating took hold.

When they arrived outside Dumbledore's office, Moody gestured to the gargoyles. "Stay there."

Harry slumped against the gargoyles, deep in thought. He had to avoid Dumbledore's gaze at all costs. But what if he did let Dumbledore know?

_Maybe he wouldn't have to go back to the Dursley's._

But another voice spoke up. _Course I'll have to...the blood wards..._

He continued to berate himself relentlessly for blowing his cover. He couldn't leave; he had no doubt Moody's magical eye was trained upon the door. The students passing were giving him strange looks as they walked by. He stuck his tongue out at a couple of them; it felt oddly good to do that.

The gargoyles opened, and Moody walked out, looking slightly disgruntled. "Go in, boy." he snapped and continued to hobble, heading towards the Entrance Hall.

Harry closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and walked inside.

Hehe...evil cliffie! mwhahaha!

P.S Ok, in case you haven't read the previous chapter since I updated, Harry is nineteen now. He hasn't defeated Voldermort, but has been in quite a few battles. I'm really sorry for the delay. It's a long story.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Harry walked into the office. The door slammed shut behind him. He saw Fawkes sitting on his perch, chirping happily, and Dumbledore sitting at his desk.

His face was a tad bit younger; his hair a bit less white, and his beard a bit shorter; but his eyes were the same. His fingers were steepled and his eyes looked calm but unsure.

He took another step. Dumbledore stood and conjured a comfy armchair for Harry to sit in. "Please make your self comfortable...Mr...?"

"Evan." He did not want to give away his real name, his identity. This was a game, and Harry did not intend on giving away his ace just yet.

He sat down, and that was when the subtle mental probing began. He tried to Occulemence his mind, but he had never learned to do it properly, so he avoided Dumbledore's gaze and looked at the carpet.

The mental pressure withdrew, and Dumbledore un-steepled his fingers. "So...Harry...apparently you took out around twenty Death Eaters?" The man's eyes were twinkling.

"Maybe..."

For some reason, Dumbledore was always able to make him feel like an awkward child. _What irony,_ he thought. He remembered the last time he had seen Dumbledore; he was lying spread-eagled on the ground, his blue eyes vacant, his body surrounded by hysterical witches and wizards.

And then he came to a decision. He was not going to play little boy; he was not going to play victim. Even though he was transported back in time, his vow still held. He could not let anyone protect him.

Harry stood. He needed to leave. Unfortunately Dumbledore sensed this. He also rose, his black robes swishing behind him.

"I need to leave, Sir." Harry realized there was little to no chance of him actually leavung, but he had to try.

"So soon, Evan?"

"Yes...I need to return home."

"May I inquire as to where that is?"

Harry almost laughed. Dumbledore didn't have to ask, he could just take the information he wanted from him...

"Very well, than. But may I request the pleasure of your company some time in the future?"

"Sure." said Harry calmy, knowing that he would never return.

And then he walked out the door.

Dumbledore turned around the minute the boy had left. He could tell the boy's name was not Evan, and that he did not intend to return.

"Fawkes!"

The bird stopped pruning and looked up at the old Headmaster quizzically.

"I need you to trail the boy...try to find out who he is."

Fawkes chirped affirmatively, then vanished in a flash of golden light. "Thank you, old friend." muttered Dumbledore.

This boy was potientially dangerous; who knew what he was capable of. The Ministry was certainly going to make some attempt to find him. What was important was that he found the boy first.

Dumbledore groaned quietly. He needed another scout; someone who could blend in and could be counted on. He smiled. He knew just the person.

Menawhile, at Privet Drive, Harry was kept busy packing his things and shrinking them. Apparently the Ministry couldn't detect his magic, or they thought it was accidental. He really didn't care-either way, it kept the morons of his back.

After he was done, he flopped on his cot, groaning. He couldn't stay here much longer; yet he had too, or Dumbledore would sense the wards failing. He had no doubt Dumbledore had some some scout after him.

He rolled over. It was a shock, seeing Dumbledore, all the while knowing how and when this man would meet his end. He shook his head as if trying to shake the dark thoughts of that night out of his head. He was still haunted by the events of his past. His nightmare counts were still going strong.

He knew he could stay here no longer. Dumbledore's spy would be here soon. Harry stood up, put all his shrunken things into his faded backpack, and pointed his wand at his head, muttering some words.

His hair turned light, light brown, and his scar disapeared. He felt like laughing at his new appearence. Then he sighed, took one last look around, and walked out of his cupboard and out of the house.

The newly christened Sirius Evans was on the run.

Once again- thanks for the reviews! As I now realize I never thanked you all- thanks toFk306 animelover , Morganna Arrowood , petites sorcieres ,and griffindorlioness81088! And yes, Ginny is younger, around five. And as there was some concern about the tattoo, remember: Harry is nineteen.  He is just stuck in a six year old's body. And one last thing- don't worry, harry will be more battle-scarred in the future.


	4. Chapter 4

-1**Chapter 4**

(**Four Years Later)**

Harry frowned. So far, his plan was perfect. He looked around the busy alley, and frowned. Yes, this was not the best plan. But it was all he could think of.

It was August, August 28th. Diagon Alley was not very crowded, oddly enough. However, this just make the success rate higher. Harry bit his lip.

Over the past four years, he had located all of Voldermort's Horcruxes. He had been extremely displeased to find that he could not destroy them yet. Apparently, since he was so young, if he used too much magic he would severely hurt or (most likely) kill himself.

He had made great strides in Occulmency and wandless magic. The spell he had been practicing lately was rather hard to do wandlessly, but he had finally managed it. It wasn't exactly a spell; he just had to control his magic.

And now, it was time. Harry removed the Glamour Charms. He pushed his magic out, and then directed it to shoot at him. The red beam hit him; and right before it did, he screamed.

Harry woke up in the Leaky Cauldron.

A tall woman was sitting next to the bed. She had her brown hair cut in a bob, and it flopped as she faced him

"Hello?" she said. "Are you awake?"

"Well duh." Harry snapped. Inside, he was doing a little jig. Someone had found him, brought him here. They knew he was Harry Potter; they had to.

"No need to get hostile." she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm Angela. I'm an Auror."

"An Auror?"

"No. I stole the badge and you, without anyone noticing." the woman said, not even blinking. "My assignment is to escort you to Professor Dumbledore."

"Why?" Harry asked, tilting his head. Then he remembered he was supposed to have memory damage. "Who's that?"

"Dumbledore? How can you not know who Dumbledore is? Well, he's like the best wizard ever. You know. Defeated Grindelia and all that jazz."

"Wizard?" Harry said, widening his eyes dramatically. He always had been a really bad actor.

Angela looked rather horrified. "Oh-I didn't-thought you knew-Well, it doesn't matter. Professor Dumbledore will sort you out. Just come with me. And don't even try whining, I know you're fine. If you were hurt, we'd have brought you to St. Mungo's."

Harry blinked. This was one strange woman. She wasn't even awed by the whole Boy-Who-Lived thing. Damn.

He watched as she withdrew a dented soda can from her robes. Angela gestured towards him. "Come here. This is a Portkey. Just hold onto to it, really hard."

As soon as Harry grabbed hold, she activated it. The whole odd feeling was skipped this time, but he didn't have time to ponder why as they arrived at the Gates.

He had a fleeting memory of Snape, his face contorted with disgust and anger, fleeing these selfsame gate, Death Eaters in tow. Later the Trio had found out that Dumbledore had instructed Snape to kill him if need be. He would rather die than cause the death of others.

McGonagall accepted it, and as she was the Order's leader after Dumbledore's death, and the Order continued acting on Snape's information. Even so, no tears were shed at his funeral.

Harry shook his head, looking at the gates. They were large, looming great black things that somehow didn't fit the 'Hogwarts Atmosphere'. He attempted to contemplate what this atmosphere was, but was forced to abandon the pursuit when Angela dragged him through, up to the doors, and outside the Headmaster's Office.

"Auror Angela Turpin, here to see Professor Dumbledore."

The statue sat, unmoving.

Harry smiled at Angela innocently. "You know, I found this wonderful candy the other day. Mars Bars, have you ever heard of them? Th-"

The statues unwilling moved aside, with a loud noise. A door appeared in the wall behind them, and Angela cast him an odd look.

"Hey, look, a door! That wasn't there a minute ago!" Harry exclaimed sweetly, letting his mouth drop into a small O.

Harry maneuvered himself so he was ahead of her, and made sure his forearms were out of range. He had had enough of Angela dragging him everywhere, thank-you-very-much.

"Mr. Potter! Ms. Turpin!" exclaimed a pleasant voice. Harry settled himself onto a newly made couch, trying his best to look utterly confused. The office was the same as ever, round and comfy, with plenty of odd-looking yet temptingly breakable objects laying around. Harry looked for Fawkes, and found him. He smiled, and the bird flew over and perched on his arm.

Fawkes had caught up with him a couple times, most definitely by order of the Supreme Mugwump himself. But Fawkes had never betrayed his trust. Harry smiled, and looked at Professor Dumbledore.

Time to play.

The boy was smiling, yet looking perplexed. "What kind of bird is this, sir? I've never seen it before."

Albus felt himself softening. "It's a phoenix, Harry."

Harry gave an oddly sad smile. "I've heard of them before. They rise from their ashes."

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Harry, can you tell me where you've been? We were very worried about you."

An almost jaded expression flitted across the boy's face. "I don't remember. All I knew was I was in this alley. It was dark, so I tried to find my way out, and then, well, I woke up with her."

"Harry, please concentrate, as this is very important. You passed out, in Diagon Alley. Why did you pass out?"

The boy began to answer, but it wasn't necessary. Dumbledore slowly looked inside his head.

_"Pettigrew," said a voice, vaguely, and then the voice belonged to a body, a tall, lean body, the body of Sirius Black. The outlines of the memory were fuzzy; the state dreamlike. _A vision.

"_You betrayed them!" the man snarled. "You betrayed us all! They trusted you!"_

_The short man made protest, tiny squeaking noises, but they were lost in the other man's voice. "It was your fault Lily and James died! I'll kill you, you bastard!"_

The boy was just ending his explanation. "…and there was this weird thing, these voices, and then I blacked out."

"I see," said Albus, nodding. He was going to have to do something about Sirius. It was utterly impossible, so impossible. They had never had reason to suspect…there was no way, yet it had to be true. There was no way this boy was a master Occulmens. Only truly skilled ones could create false memories, and this boy had no motivation to do so. Obviously the boy was hiding something, but it was not sinister. He _was_ just a boy, after all.

"Sir?" Harry asked. "Am I a wizard?"

Albus opened his blue eyes. "Yes, Harry. You see…"

Harry hid his smile. So far, it was going well. Albus fell for it, the whole memory thing. It wasn't far from the truth, so Harry figured he wasn't really doing anything bad, Granted, there was that tiny niggling voice deep inside him that was yelling, _you moron, stop playing people like this. You ought to be ashamed of yourself…_

It was pretty eerie how his conscience sounded like a really angry Mrs. Weasley.

"So you'll be staying with the Tonks' until the start of term, Harry."

"Yes, Professor." Harry said obediently, and let himself be led off to meet the Tonks'.

**Please review. Sorry for the long wait, people. It'll never happen again. Anyway, I made some slight changes. Harry is nineteen when he goes back in time, not 17. He has not defeated Voldermort yet in that timeline, but has participated in many battles. And, in an earlier version of this chapter, I had Harry go to stay with the Weasleys, which was a mistake. Now he is staying with the Tonks. Again, I'm sorry for the wait!! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

A/N: Yes, I know everyone hates these, but bear with me. I have slightly edited Chapter 4. The only change is the fact that Harry is staying with the Tonks family **not** the Weasleys. That was a typing error, which I corrected. Thanks!

The Tonks home was large, an oddity considering the fact that Andromeda had been disowned. But hey, who was he to be picky? He met with the matriarch a few seconds after arriving; an old house-elf ushered him in an octagonal room. It had blue, thick carpeting, and pure white walls, There were several windows, and sunlight streamed through them. A tall, regal woman sat in a blue chair. She rose and graciously extended her hand.

Harry took it, and the woman spoke. "I am Andromeda Tonks." she said.

"Harry Potter. Thank you for letting me stay here." Harry returned, slightly unnerved by Andromeda's piercing stare.

"My pleasure. You and I, though, are not the only ones who live here. My daughter does also, and I must warn you she is a little bit-" Heavy footsteps approached the room. The person was whistling cheerfully, and then a mighty crash sounded throughout the room.

"It's fine, Mum." called the person from outside the door. "It was just the umbrella stand."

Andromeda grimaced. "Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear." she said, laughing quietly.

Her daughter entered, and though Harry already knew Tonks, he wasn't prepared for this. Her hair was loose around her shoulder, and it was a dark purple, with streaks of pink in it. She was wearing a large T-shirt which had 'The Weird Sisters' emblazoned on it. Her nose turned up a bit, and her eyes were also violet.

"Wotcher, Harry. I'm Tonks." she said brightly.

"Nymphadora." reprimanded Andromeda.

"Mum, I've told you a million times that I can't stand that name!" Tonks rolled her eyes, and then smiled. "C'mon, Harry I have to show you your room!"

She grabbed his forearm and dragged him up flights of stairs. "I would just Apparate, but I failed my exams, and besides you can't Apparate here. Great Uncle Alphard took care of that. Do you know that we got blasted off the tapestry? The Black one. Because Mum married my dad. It's fine, though, because Alphard left Mum loads of money. And besides, Mum's an Unspeakable and they get paid a lot. I'm glad we got disowned, if it means we aren't related to the Malfoys-Oh! Here it is!"

She stopped in front of a door, and pushed it open. The walls were white, and the carpet a warm red. A bed, dresser, and nightstand stood proudly in various areas; but the one remarkable thing was the ceiling. It featured a giant phoenix in flight, fire swirling about it and its beak open. A jet of blue flame was issuing from its mouth.

Tonks smiled. "Here's your room...Mum calls it the Blue Room. Not sure why, though."

Harry looked around him in awe. This place was way better than Privet Drive!

Tonks opened her mouth. "Anyway, just settle in, dinner's in about half an hour. I have to go to the Ministry-Auror practice and all." A slightly mischievous gleam came into her eyes, and she closed them. When she opened them, she was taller, with waist length jet-black hair and green eyes.

"I look like your sister," she chortled, and bounded out of the room. As soon as she left, Harry started unpacking his things. He had bought them over the years, and made sure they were with him when his 'memory loss' took place. He took out his books first-Occulemency, the Hidden Arte, Animagi, Or How to Become One, Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, and various other titles. He withdrew his clothes and placed them in the dresser, and then his other items. Trinkets, Dark detectors, and of course, his wand, also came out.

Nothing, he reflected, was going right. He'd assumed he'd be placed with the Weasley's. It made sense; they had two children his 'age', Mr. Weasley was in the Ministry, Mrs. Weasley had children, she knew how to take care of them, and they were loyal to Dumbledore. Instead, he got placed with an eccentric Auror-in-training and her mother, who was blasted off the family tree for marrying a Muggleborn, yet no husband seemed to be around.

He was in uncharted territory.

Dinner was held in a large room, the 'private dining room'. It might have been private, but it was huge and fancy, with giant crystal chandeliers. It was like Grimmauld Place, without the dirt, crazy house-elves, and screaming portraits.

Ok, maybe it wasn't _quite_ like Grimmauld Place.

He sat down, uncomfortable with Tonks and Andromeda looking at him. Andromeda cleared her throat. "Nymphadora, how was Auror training?"  
"Oh, you know...we worked on simple spells, like Stunning and Disarming. They brought in Mad-Eye, and Merlin is he paranoid. If I hear-"

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" barked Andromeda, and Tonks fell off her seat. "Guess you need to work on that a bit."

Harry sniggered. No wonder she was Sirius' favorite cousin. Andromeda laughed quietly. "I met Mad-Eye years ago, at Unspeakable training."

"What was that like?" asked Harry curiously.

"Well, the first part was identical to Auror training. We worked on dueling skills, all kind of spell work. It was easy-" Here she held up a hand to Tonk's noise of protest. "It was easy compared to Unspeakable training. We did a lot of different things..."

"What exactly do you do?" queried Harry.

Andromeda grinned. "I'm afraid I can't speak of what I do as an Unspeakable."

The rest of the dinner continued like that, and Harry learned much more about the duo. Andromeda was usually relaxed, but the years of having manners beaten in to her head had made an impact. After that he retired to his room.

Andromeda had told them that the Weasleys were coming over tomorrow as Dumbledore wanted Harry to get 'acquainted'. He was not looking forward to this visit exactly: he couldn't tell them who he was. He mentally chuckled at the picture. "Hi Mrs. Weasley, I already know you and your children because I am a time traveler...How was _your_ day?"

That would be hard, lying to them, but it was worth it. It was for the greater good. Wasn't it?

Harry awoke with a shout. He scrambled about madly with his wand, only to see Tonks above him, laughing hysterically, his wand in her hand. Sopping wet, he glared at her. "That was _not_ necessary!"

"No," replied Tonks. "But it was funny."

The chase ended ten minutes later, which was as long as it took to get down to the Grand Entrance. He uttered a war-cry, preparing to snatch back his wand, Tonks ducked, and sent Harry flying-

He looked up. "Er-hello, Mrs. Weasley."

**Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

He scrambled to his feet, blushing furiously. "Er-I'm…"

"Harry Potter," completed Percy, sounding rather bored.

Harry scowled; and noticed that Charlie was there, but not Bill. _Well, that make sense. Charlie's about eighteen now, just out of school, which makes Bill…twenty?_ "Hello, you must be the Weasleys," he said, adopting a semi-cheerful tone.

"Why, yes dear." said Mrs. Weasley, casting an odd look at Tonks. Tonks, however, did not notice. She was too busy trying to avoid Charlie's gaze. Mrs. Weasley frowned and nudged Fred in the elbow.

Fred grinned immediately. "Hello, Harry, I'm Forge."

"And I'm Gred! It's absolutely _spiffing _to meet you-"

"You've grown so much since the last time-"

Harry laughed as his hand was pumped energetically. "Fred! George!" snapped Mrs. Weasley, and they ceased.

"This is Ron, Charlie, Percy, and Ginny," introduced Mrs. Weasley, pointing to the respective redhead.

Andromeda entered then. "Hello, Molly. How do you do?"

"Quite well, how are you?"

Harry looked at the kids. "Want to see my room?"

They agreed-except Percy, and Charlie, who stayed with Tonks-and climbed the stairs, leaving the adults to their formal discourse. As they entered, Harry chewed on his lip. What _did_ wizarding children do for fun?

"Do you want to play Exploding Snap?" he asked nervously.

Ginny, it turned out, was horrible at it; the cards continually combusted, until, totally sooty and ash-stained, she withdrew. The twins were much better than Ron, and Harry was merely decent. They played elimination after that; Ron was eliminated next.

"What's Occulemency?" he asked curiously.

Harry jumped nearly a mile, and then cursed his stupidity. The book was lying, spine up, on the floor. "I guess it's some form of mind protection," he said calmly.

"Where'd you get it?" asked Ginny.

He hesitated. "I don't remember. I had all this stuff with me when I was found." There was a profound silence. "Do you want to borrow it? I really don't need it, it seems my mind is almost completely sealed."

"Sure!" said Ginny, taking the book. Then, of course, she blushed.

Ron asked, "Do you have chess? Wizarding chess?"

"I don't know...hold on…Corfy!"

With a barely audible _pop_ the house-elf appeared. "How can Corfy be helping Master Harry?" he asked eagerly.

The Weasleys were looking with interest. "Er…Yu don't have to call me Master Harry," said Harry. "But do we have any Wizarding chess games?"

Corfy nodded. _Pop!_ He was gone. Just as suddenly he and the game appeared. "Thanks, Corfy!" he exclaimed, taking it.

"It's no problem, Mister Harry Potter, sir." _Pop!_

"You have a house-elf?"

Harry shrugged. "Well, they're not mine, they're Andromeda's. She has six or seven. Anyway, who thinks they can beat me?"

After the Weasley's had left, Andromeda took Harry into a room of the side. It was a drawing room, with just two couches and a coffee table. She muttered a couple words, and then another; finally satisfied, she sat across form him.

"I was checking if the room was bugged," she explained. She sat up a bit straighter. "Harry, I know you didn't lose your memory. If you tell me, I won't tell anyone."

"Especially not Dumbledore." said Harry warily. He didn't know if he could trust her. Sirius had said she was his favorite cousin, though. "Do you mind if I test your Occulemency?"

"You may."

Harry plunged into her mind, only to run headfirst into a large wall. It withstood all his attempts, and finally he withdrew.

"How did you learn?"

She drew herself up. "I am one of the Blacks. We all learned it at a young age. Now will you tell me?"

Harry looked at her. He really couldn't decide. He needed to tell someone, just to know that he wasn't the only person on Earth who was responsible for this; he wanted someone to help him shoulder this burden.

He needed help.

And so Harry told her; he told her of his first and second years, and the Tournament and Cedric and the Department of Mysteries. He told her of the Half-Blood Prince and of the two years that followed; the hiding and fighting, the bloodshed and sheer terror, but the knowledge that he had to do something. Then he plunged into the last couple years.

Andromeda was silent for a moment. "I knew about the Prophecy," she said finally. "In my work. The Department of Mysteries."

Harry looked at her slightly incredulously. That's all she could say? As if reading his mind, she looked him in the eye. "Pity does no one any good, Harry. I accepted what you told me, so now we have to decide what we're going to do about it."

He nodded, and then a thought struck. "Why did I come here? I thought I'd be with the Weasleys."

"Right now, I'm the Head of the House of Black, which might seem odd, since my surname is Tonks. There are only a few members left; Sirius Black, Bellatrix Lestrange, Narcissa Malfoy, and by her, Draco Malfoy as well. Oh, and Nymphadora, I suppose."

"But I thought Sirius was the Head."

She gave an unpleasant chuckle. "Well, he's in Azkaban, which excludes hi. Unless he gets out. The same goes for Bellatrix…and as for Narcissa, she's younger than me."

"About Sirius," Harry started. "He's innocent, remember? I need to get him out. I told Dumbledore but he didn't seem to concerned."

"If we occult get a message out to the press, that would be great," mused Andromeda.

Harry grinned, very slowly. "I think I know just the one."

**Thanks for the reviews! I just realized I've never answered why DE's were attacking. They just wanted to have a bit of 'fun' like at the World Cup. **


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